First Date
by twig height
Summary: Ficlet based on the 3x05 preview of Cosima's sapphire date. Originally posted on tumblr, but thought I'd post it here.


Cosima wasn't even sure why she entertained Felix's ridiculous idea of having her join a dating site. If she was being honest with herself, there were more pressing matters she should be attending to, but at the same time she welcomed the distraction. Anything to keep her mind off the chaos that seemed to follow her little band of misfits she called a family…and Delphine. **  
**

As she rounded the corner to Bobby's bar, she took out her cell phone and brought up the Sapphire app and scrolled to Shay's profile reading over her bio. On the surface she seemed like the perfect person to help her get over…

Cosima walked into the bar, putting her phone in her back pocket, scanning the room for her date. She spotted Shay immediately, sitting at the bar. Bleach blonde hair adorned with a floppy hat. Their eyes met, Cosima lifted her hand for an awkward wave and even more awkward half-smile. Why was she so nervous? Cosima never had trouble meeting new people before. She made her way over to the blonde swallowing the sudden rush of nausea that surfaced.

"Hey! Cosima, right?" Shay said as she stood up with a wide smile.

"Yup," Cosima said, rubbing the back of her neck. "Shay, I assume?" She asked extending her arm for a handshake.

"You got it," Shay said as she pulled Cosima in for a hug.

Cosima was stunned, arms dangling by her side for a brief moment, not expecting the gesture before half-heartedly wrapping her arms around Shay in return.

"Do you want to grab a table?" Shay pointed to a few empty booths that lined the wall at the far side of the bar.

"No, this is fine," Cosima said as she took a seat at the bar. Shay followed suit, smiling.

"So, tell me about yourself. Your bio was a little lacking in the info department," Shay said after settling into her seat, picking up the tea cup that was in front of her.

"Oh, yeah," Cosima let out an uncomfortable laugh. "I uh…I never know what to put down for those things," Cosima said, catching the sly grin spreading across Shay's face. "Not that I join a ton of dating sites or anything, I just…" Shay's grin turned into a giggle. "…I'll stop talking now," Cosima laughed trying to hide her embarrassment.

"No, no, it's okay. Is this your first Sapphire date?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yeah, it shows," Shay said playfully. Cosima winced. The phrase bringing back a flood of memories she was trying to avoid…forget.

Shay saw the pained expression flicker across Cosima's face. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by that."

"I know." Cosima said, nodding. "I know, it's just –"

"Can I get you anything?" The bartender interrupted, placing a napkin in front of Cosima.

She turned her attention to the bartender, thankful for the reprieve. "Yes! A glass of red wine would be great, thank you."

The bartender nodded and walked away, Cosima stared after him for a few moments before turning her attention back to Shay.

"Sorry about that," Cosima said.

"It's okay. So, what do you do? Shay asked.

Now that was a loaded question, wasn't it? Why had she let Felix talk her into this? _Oh, ya know, I'm part of an illegal experimental cloning project, one of my sister's had been tracking us down and killing us, but we're cool now, I helped one of my other sisters try to kill another one, but don't worry, she had it coming, we just found out that there is another clone project and they happen to be our brothers, if you can believe it, and my girlfriend - scratch that - ex-girlfriend thinks she knows what's best and is off doing god knows what…and oh, yeah… I'm dying._

"I'm getting my PhD in biology," Cosima decided to say instead.

"Oh, that's really cool," Shay said. "You must be swamped."

With a nervous laugh, "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"What field? I'm more into holistic medicine."

"Evo-De…" Cosima trailed off. Again hit with a wave of emotions. A pair of soft hazel eyes, a warm smile and dimples flashing through her mind. Cosima shook her head. "Evolutionary Development."

The bartender returned with Cosima's glass of wine. She promptly picked it up and nearly downed the whole thing.

After a rocky start, and three glasses of wine later, Cosima found herself back at Felix's loft with Shay sitting on the couch facing each other. She's not really sure why she asked Shay back to the loft. Maybe it was the wine, the openness with which Shay so freely shared things about herself, the easiness of not having to question her motives.

As Shay leaned forward, placing her hands on either side of Cosima's face, drawing her into a kiss, Cosima didn't resist. She let herself be pulled in, thinking about the last time she was in a similar position. Soft lips brushed against hers. Unfamiliar lips moving to deepen the kiss. Shay let out a quiet moan and Cosima brought her hands up, wrapping her fingers around Shay's wrists, and pulled away.

"I'm sorry," Cosima breathed, dropping her hands into her lap. Taking in Shay's bewildered expression, "I can't do this," she said.

Confused, Shay asked, "What's wrong? I thought we were having a good time."

"We were. It's just…" Cosima paused, turning her gaze to her hands that were anxiously turning over in her lap, trying to gather her thoughts.

"It's okay. We don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

Cosima sighed. "My girlfriend broke up with me not too long ago." Cosima wasn't sure how much she wanted to share with Shay, this unsuspecting stranger.

Shay reached her hand to grab a hold of Cosima's giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I'm sorry," Cosima said again, raising her head to look at Shay. "I shouldn't have let my friend talk me into this."

"Don't worry about it, I get it." Shay gave her soft smile. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Cosima laughed, "Not really." Shaking her head. "If I'm being honest, I've been avoiding it."

"I get it. Breakups are tough." Shay said. "Do you want me to go?"

"No," Cosima said, surprising herself. "I could really use a friend."

Shay smiled giving Cosima's hand another squeeze.

"Got any tea?"

"Yeah, I think there might be some camomile," Cosima said.

"Perfect! This isn't exactly how I pictured the night ending up, but I'll go put water on. When I get back, I'll tell you a story about an ex from college. You'll never believe it."

With a smile Shay got up and headed toward the kitchen. Cosima shifted on the couch, leaning back and putting her feet on the coffee table and sighed. Maybe tonight wouldn't be a total disaster after all.


End file.
